And so it ends
Posted by: Missing? NO!
Date: 2020-07-28 18:16:45
To the admins and site staff, I want to say thank you. Thank you for believing in me at 11 years old and allowing me to get my feet wet as a Local Moderator, and later full-fledged Staff member. Your belief and trust in a young, admittedly-dumb kid led me to find my passion for community organization, management, and leadership. I couldn't be happier to help this site grow over past 13 years.
To the community, thank you for being welcoming, patient, kind, and genuinely fun to participate in. There was a point sometime in the 2010s where I distanced myself from GCL for a while. I didn't show up for a nearly a year, and showed up sporadically ever since. However, during my breaks from the site, there were always points where it would slowly creep back into my head. I remember being on a family vacation, sitting on the couch, deep into a break from GCL, wondering "Hm. I wonder what the folks at GCL are up to today?" Now, I find myself fully-employed at a tech company, checking this place regularly for the first time in years.
There have been plenty of members that I've seen come and go, but every interaction has been pleasant and reinforced my commitment to this community. I remember requesting PT for an insane sprite of all 493 Gen IV Pokemon combined… and he actually did it. I remember playing FiveX in Smash Bros. Brawl a bit after its release (fun fact, that was my first ever match of "competitive" Smash… I swept him). I remember being blown away when I realized another member of this site, Bassmasta, lived in the same town as me. I was even more blown away when we found each other in the same class. At its peak, the reach GCL had was absolutely insane.
There's many other memories I could list. So… why not list some?
[li]Asking Newo how to change my Display Name after my first week on the site.
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[li]Trying to delve into the backstory and history of Don Watermeleon as he (in my mind) tried to usurp the site.
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[li]Starting a spinoff site with Axaj, called Oboenation, which was essentially just a crap SMF forum with no real purpose. Still fun though!
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[li]Opening my own spriting shop after being inspired by Yami Mutou. I sucked, but it was still a fun project.
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[li]Posting as much as I feasibly could to rack up ? dollars to spend in the shop. I think I bought a few random things, like a VBA and some other emulation stuff. I also started my own shop, where I sold JPEGs and PowerPoints.
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[li]Shooting the s**t with Led Zeppelin, who, for a while, was the person I talked to the most on this site.
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[li]"Adopt a Glitch Pokemon"
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[li]Going through the massively-long GCL shutdown of 2009… yet still remaining active on the site for years and years afterwards.
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[li]The original Admins Suck thread, AND multiple years of SPAM AND WIN!!!… all of which I lost.
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[li]The DESU rank.
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[li]People using (and abusing) the Hooked Metapod in their introduction threads. To the point where using the Hooked Metapod in introductions was banned. Incredible.
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[li]I reserve the right to add to this list later. :p
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It's weird to picture the internet without this place that I've called my home for so long, but I know that I'll always carry a piece of this place with me no matter how much time passes. This place singlehandedly formed my interest in computers, programming, hacking, reverse engineering, and management. It made me curious about how things, specifically technology, work. While the site itself was a great resource of Pokemon glitch knowledge, specifically for older games, it also was a great place for me to learn, grow, and explore my interests in technology. It shaped who I am today. I've never been someone who's been that deep into the Pokemon glitching scene–it's a testament to this community that I've stuck around as long as I have.
I won't be continuing on to whatever glitch research site emerges from the shadows of GCL. My interests have always been in this site, this community, and the memories I've made as a member of Glitch City Labs–glitching has always been a secondary interest of mine that I don't mind stepping away from now that the site is closing. I will, however, miss the community, miss the friends I've made here, and miss the literal decade of memories I've made here as a member of this site.
Thank you all for everything you've done for me. I wouldn't be who I am today without the presence of this site in my life. Abwayax, Photon, and the rest of the Admin staff–you've done a great job with this site and are the reason why it's been so successful. You deserve a long, long rest. It's been a privilege to work alongside you.
For the final time; thank you, good luck, and Long Live the Hooked Metapod.
~ Missing? NO!